WASHINGTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Two directors of Epic

Games who had been appointed by Chinese gaming and social media

firm Tencent Holdings ( TCTZF ) resigned from the board of the

Fortnite video game maker after the U.S. Justice Department's

antitrust division expressed concerns, the department said on

Wednesday.

The Justice Department had been concerned that the two

directors' membership on the boards of both Epic and Tencent ( TCTZF )

violated U.S. law.

Tencent ( TCTZF ) owns a minority interest in Epic Games. It is also

the parent company of a gaming competitor to Epic, Riot Games,

the Justice Department said in a statement.

"Tencent ( TCTZF ) also decided to amend its shareholder agreement

with Epic to relinquish its unilateral right to appoint

directors or observers to the Epic board in the future," the

department said.

It said the two directors' positions on both the Epic and

Tencent ( TCTZF ) boards violated Section 8 of the Clayton Act, which

prohibits directors and officers from serving simultaneously on

the boards of competitors, subject to limited exceptions.

No company or individual has admitted to liability in

connection with this investigation, the Justice Department

added. Its statement did not name the two directors in question.

Epic Games and Tencent ( TCTZF ) had no immediate comment.